The Ognon Valley via Geneuille and Cussey

This route will allow you to discover the countryside and woods of the villages of Geneuille and Cussey-sur-l'Ognon.
The route is not difficult and follows well-marked paths and forest roads.

Details

604401
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.34 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 34 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 34 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 251 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 213 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park in front of the cemetery (1 Route d'Auxon Dessous in Cussey sur l'Ognon)

(S/E) Continue along the Route d'Auxon Dessous to reach the Corvées housing estate.
To reach the Bois de Cussey, continue along Rue de Sauvagney.

(1) Turn left at the farm. Take the farm track to the edge of the woods and walk along the left-hand side of the edge. After about 20 metres, enter the woods.
Follow a small path that will lead to a more passable track.

(2) Continue on the left until you reach the D230.

(3) Cross the road (watch out for traffic) and take another path into the woods. Continue along the path through the woods, following either the mountain bike trail markers (yellow triangle with a dot) or the green arrows so you don't get lost. You will then arrive at the D14.

(4) Cross it to reach the Bois de Racla. A few dozen metres further on, take a new path on the left to walk along the Étang de l'Aurêtre.

(5) Turn right onto the D14 and carefully cross the D1 (Route de Besançon) to reach Geneuille. Then stay on the main road in Geneuille until you reach the intersection near the town hall and library.

(6) Turn left, then a little further on, turn right onto Route des Papetiers and stay on this road until you see a bridge. Along this road, you will pass a campsite and the old paper mills. Please respect the position of pedestrians on this section of the road as there is traffic.

(7) At the bridge, continue your walk along a slightly less busy road on your left (Vieille Route de Cussey), which will take you back to the village of Cussey.
Take the third road on your left (Rue du Château) and follow it to Grande Rue.

(8) Then go down this road (on the left) to return to your starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 244 m - Car park in front of the cemetery
  2. 1 : km 0.64 - alt. 229 m - Farm
  3. 2 : km 1.82 - alt. 240 m - Forest path
  4. 3 : km 2.5 - alt. 248 m - Crossing the D230
  5. 4 : km 3.93 - alt. 241 m - Crossing the D14
  6. 5 : km 5.26 - alt. 231 m - Junction with the D14
  7. 6 : km 6.48 - alt. 224 m - Town hall - Geneuille library - Towards the - Ognon (rivière)
  8. 7 : km 7.87 - alt. 215 m - Bridge
  9. 8 : km 10.18 - alt. 242 m - Grande Rue in Cussey
  10. S/E : km 10.34 - alt. 245 m - Car park in front of the cemetery

Notes

From Cussey to Geneuille, follow the various signs (Mountain Bike Route 96 - white line or green arrow).

Be careful when crossing the D1 road (Route de Besançon), where there is more traffic since the TGV station in Auxon-Dessus opened.

Worth a visit

  • Aurêtre Pond in Geneuille
  • Fountain on Rue de la Gratotte in Geneuille
  • There are two châteaux in Geneuille, both of which are relatively recent constructions. The first, the Château de la Dame Blanche, is hidden by the park that surrounds it. All that can be seen from the hill overlooking the Ognon is its beautiful gate and the peaceful foliage of the trees lining a long driveway. It has been converted into a three-star hotel.

Much more visible, even if it cannot be visited, is the Château Beneyton, owned by Mr. Pierre Chausse, also known as Château Lyautey. On its façade, a stone above the entrance bears two initials, B and L, Beneyton and Lyautey, which refer to the same family.

  • The former Papeteries de France paper mill in Geneuille

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3.3 / 5
Danièle55
Danièle55

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

You must be very careful along the ruins of the paper mill, which are dangerous for pedestrians.

Machine-translated

narca25
narca25

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The first 5 km are pleasant through the woods.
However, I didn't enjoy the rest of the route, which takes you through two villages and along a road with traffic (admittedly not very busy on 1 November, but you'd have to see what it's like on a weekday).
It's a shame
On the other hand, I saw a shorter route, but it was only through woods. If I do it again, I'll try that one.

Machine-translated

le saut de bonneille
le saut de bonneille
• Edited:

A beautiful hike without much difficulty
The only drawback is that it ends on a road with no protection at the exit from Geneuille.

Machine-translated

randonneur 70
randonneur 70

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant and enjoyable hike until point 6, after which it becomes more monotonous with road walking until the finish.
As for the Ognon Valley, you can only see the river at Geneuille.
You need to be very careful along the ruins of the paper mill.

Machine-translated

richardd
richardd

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant and easy hike in winter

Machine-translated

quencez
quencez

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

One way to avoid walking along the ruins in Geneuille is to take the path at G that climbs up to the Dame Blanche, which is not very busy, and then descend towards the river. It's prettier that way.

Machine-translated

PAYER François
PAYER François

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The first half of the route – up to the Aurêtre pond – is very good. Note: the VTT 96 trail markings could do with a "refresh" (but this is certainly not Visiorando's responsibility).
After that, there is a lot of tarmac. Is there no alternative route to Cussey?
"...intersection near the town hall and library." It would be simpler to indicate that you should turn left onto Rue des Papetiers. The section of road between the campsite and the old paper mills is really unpleasant and dangerous: when will the old buildings collapse?

François PAYER

Machine-translated

henri57
henri57 ★
• Edited:

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion.

By "route on map", we mean assessing the accuracy of the route as it appears on the map in relation to the actual terrain.
Did the route cause any problems?

See you soon.

Machine-translated

Moraj
Moraj

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing

Undergrowth, a pond. The section along the paper mills is a bit dangerous with the road. The section on the road between Cussey and Geneuille is uninteresting. Neither beautiful nor ugly, but nothing to write home about. Worth doing if you're in the area, but not worth travelling there for. As for the overrated "Vallée de l'Ognon" (Ognon Valley), you can see the river in Geneuille and that's it.

Machine-translated

coco et philippe
coco et philippe

I have not yet completed this hike.

Machine-translated

Morond
Morond

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Very pleasant in the forest, but long journey on the road.
The GR trail markings are not mentioned in the description???

Machine-translated

46497477
46497477

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
A very pleasant route, although the signage on the ground is a little lacking, which does not detract from the enjoyable and fun nature of the route.
It's a shame that a very short stretch near the old Geneuille paper mills, which cannot be avoided, disturbs the tranquillity of the route, but if you take great care, this inconvenience is quickly forgotten.
Definitely worth doing.
Best regards
Pierre
:

Machine-translated

geripaux
geripaux

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello
Enjoy your walk without any problems.
However, I regret the long return journey by road between Geneuille and Cussey... surely there must be a footpath available?
The danger of this road is signposted, but it would be a good idea to highlight this warning at the paper mills, where you have to walk on a bend in the road with no visibility.
In general, there are no references to the GR trail in the signage... is this intentional?
Kind regards.
Roger Chipaux

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.